Cubs Top Rockies In Wacky One
They hadn't homered in eight games, their longest power outage in nearly two years. The came a windy day at Wrigley Field, and the Chicago Cubs connected five times.
But it wasn't the long ball that finally produced a wild 13-12 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. It was a 100-foot fly ball from Mickey Morandini that fell in for a game-winning single in the ninth.
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Chicago trailed 12-11 after Colorado's Darryl Hamilton hit an RBI single off Beck (2-2) in the ninth.
Jose Hernandez walked off Jerry DiPoto (0-1) starting the bottom half and scored on Tyler Houston's RBI double. Lance Johnson's groundout moved Houston to third and he scored when Morandini's fly to shallow right-center over a drawn-in infield fell in front of right fielder Larry Walker.
"Morandini's hit was a popup, but we had to play the infield in," Rockies manager Jim Leyland said.
"With the infield in, there are so many ways you can score a run. You don't have to be as precise," Morandini said.
Or as powerful.
"Mickey's hit was better than a line-drive out, believe me," said Cubs first baseman Mark Grace, who hit his first career grand slam, helping Chicago build an 8-2 lead it couldn't hold.
The Cubs trailed 11-8 in the eighth but tied it on Sammy Sosa's two-run homer, his fifth of the season, and a solo shot by Henry Rodriguez off Chuck McElroy.
"We were talking on the bench like this could be a Wrigley Field game," said Leyland, whose staff gave up eight walks. "You can't pitch like that, especially if it's flying around like a ping-pong ball out there."
"The stadium doesn't have anything to do with it," McElroy said. "The hitters just did their job and the bullpen didn't."
Colordo pinch-hitter Angel Echevarria hit a game-tying, three-run homer in the seventh and Walker doubled in two runs in a three-run eighth as the Rockies took an 11-8 lead.
But with a strong wind blowing from right to left at 15 mph, no lead was safe.
"Even when we were up 8-2, it didn't look like it would be enough today," Morandini said.
Chicago jumped ahead behind Grace's third-inning slam, a solo shot by Gary Gaetti and two-run homer by Hernandez, all off Darryl Kile.
But Echevarria got the Rockies even with his three-run homer off Felix Heredia in the seventh, his third homer all as a pinch-hitter. Vinny Castilla singled and Todd Helton walked off Rodney Myers before Echevarria connected.
Rodriguez earlier hit an RBI double to make it 8-2 in the fifth and finish Kile, who gave up eight runs just four earned and six hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Colorado got three back in the sixth on Hamilton's two-run double and a run-scoring single by Mike Lansing that drove out rookie Kyle Farnsworth, who allowed nine hits and five runs in 5 2-3.
Walker had a first-inning single and then raced home when Dante Bichette dropped a fly ball double behind first that Sosa had trouble picking up as it went over the bullpen pitcher's mound.
Walker hit an RBI single in the third.
Notes: The teams combined for 31 hits, 17 by the Rockies four by Hamilton. ... The Rockies optioned right-hander Jamey Wright to Triple-A Colorado Springs. He was 0-1 with a 7.58 ERA in four starts this season. ... Manny Alexander left in the third after spraining his right ankle while sliding awkwardly into second just before Grace's slam. ... Cubs reliever Rodney Myers pinch-hit a double in the sixth inning but was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Lance Johnson's single to right. Myers then came in to pitch the next inning. ... Walker has a nine-game hitting streak. ... For the second straight game, debris came flying out of the stands after a close call at second went against the Cubs. But Tuesday's ninth-inning display was mild compared to Monday night when baseball and bottles were thrown, forcing a five-minute delay after an unpopular call by an umpire. ... The Cubs went nine games between homers in July 1997.
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